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Posts Tagged ‘ISP’

Don’t Lose Another Customer by Telling Them to Call Another Number

Thursday, March 31st, 2011

A branch manager of a national equipment rental company once said, “My company doesn’t get it. When one of the other branches doesn’t have a backhoe and they tell the customer to call my store, they don’t. One day’s rental of that machine can pay for a month of phone service.” According to Rosanne D’Ausilio, president of Human Technologies at Global, “Even though the economy appears to be stalled, having an excellent customer experience is a high priority for consumers.” Brendan B. Read further adds that requiring customers to call another number “no longer cuts it in today’s marketplace.”

Customers may call the next number they are given, but far too frequently they will get distracted on another task, forget the number, call the next number in the directory or call a competitor with a retail location that is closer to their location. Each time a caller is asked to dial another number, the company loses a significant percentage of those calls. Along with the call, they lose revenue of the sale and the future potential of the customer. They lose the marketing dollars invested in enticing the customer to call. They may also lose staff time spent locating the branch that could meet the customer’s needs.

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) enabled business telephone systems and Hosted PBX services allow businesses to connect phones and telephone systems together over broadband Internet connections. Hosted PBX services can be installed for minimal or no capital investment. They will also work with any major Internet Service Provider (ISP) including Verizon, Comcast, AT&T, Sprint and Centurylink. Even in a “stalled economy,” multiple location business can afford to integrate all their telephones with the low capital investment of Hosted PBX services and the wide availability of broadband Internet.

A fully integrated telephone system will allow calls to be transferred from one branch to another. When a branch can not meet the caller’s needs, the call is sent to another branch that can. The customer is not inconvenienced by having to write down and call another number, the revenue is realized, the customer may yield future potential revenue and customer service is enhanced.

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Posted in Cloud, Hosted PBX, ISP, VoIP | No Comments »

Net Neutrality – The Pot-holed Road to Nowhere

Tuesday, March 1st, 2011

If you have been following the Net Neutrality drama that started at the FCC and has now spread to the courts and Congress, you may find yourself emotionally attached to one side of the argument. Pro-Neutrality observers side against the large telecommunication conglomerates that control large portions of the Internet and can identify with the common man wanting unhindered Internet. Others do not like government meddling and want the FCC and Congress to keep their hands off especially when nothing seems to be broken.

Setting emotions and biases aside, one must recognize that both sides have good arguments. The rules passed by the FCC do seem to be carefully crafted. Many Internet Service Providers (ISPs) operate in a near monopolistic environment which creates the opportunity for abuse. ISPs could hamper the traffic of rivals and effectively squash any innovation that they oppose.

On the other hand, there is a lack of any significant detrimental network management practices affecting the Internet experience. From personal experience, my company’s Hosted PBX service, which competes with the services of many large ISPs, has thrived without any regulation whatsoever. In fact, the Internet has developed to where it is today without any Net Neutrality rules. No one has been able to argue that the Internet would be better if these rules were in place at any point in the past.

Both sides have their problems, as well. The federal government has an unmistakable knack for making a mess of anything it touches. On the flip side, a member of the United States Congress, sounding eerily similar to a Verizon lawyer, can make the least judgmental shift uncomfortably in their seat.

After reading dozens of opinions both for and against Net Neutrality and much careful consideration, I have come to the opinion that there is no right answer. The whole debate is a road covered with teeth-rattling, bone-jarring pot holes that leads to nowhere.

Len Grace seems to agree. In his article Abandon Net Neutrality Rules and Focus on Broadband Proliferation, he says “the FCC continues to go down a dead-end road with Net Neutrality rules which increases distraction and turmoil within the telecommunications industry.” In fact, the Net Neutrality argument may be distracting the FCC from a more worthwhile objective of increasing broadband competition and broadband access to all Americans.

Increased broadband access will benefit all Americans, commercially and privately. That is obvious. Increased broadband access and competition should have another impact. If Internet consumers have multiple ISP choices, will they be as likely to choose an ISP that is blocking, slowing down or manipulating Internet traffic? If prices and plans are equal, the answer is probably not. In other words, free market forces can regulate Net Neutrality if healthy competition is in place.

Right or wrong, the FCC started the Net Neutrality debate and it is getting a lot of time, attention and money from both public and private interests. The debate may last for months if not years creating an extended period of uncertainty. Uncertainty in broadband regulation will not encourage broadband investment. Broadband regulation will not likely encourage it, either. Regardless, the argument has become a distracting spectacle. Instead, what if the debate in Congress with guidance from the FCC was centered on how to increase broadband access and availability through public and private investment in these economically challenging times? That could foster healthy broadband competition, help secure America’s competitiveness and would be positive, forward-thinking leadership.

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HostMyCalls Hosted PBX Internet Cable Modem Help Guide

Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010

Is the Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) of Your Cable Modem Slowing Down Your Internet Speed?

If you are having trouble with your cable provided Internet circuit, your first step is to determine whether the problem is in the Internet Service Provider’s (ISP) network or specific to your location. The best tool for determining the location of Internet trouble is an IP Packet Loss and Delay Test Tool.

Let’s assume that you have used an IP Packet Loss Tool and found either significant latency or packet loss happening at your site. In other words, the problem is specific to your location. What should you do next? Check the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR or S/N) on the cable modem.

Signal-to-Noise Ratio

According to Wikipedia.org, “signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is a measure used in science and engineering to quantify how much a signal has been corrupted by noise. It is defined as the ratio of signal power to the noise power corrupting the signal. A ratio higher than 1:1 indicates more signal than noise.”

An everyday example of SNR is listening to music in your car over road noise or other people talking. The louder the radio compared to the other noise in the car, the more clearly you hear the music. The same is true for your cable modem “hearing” the signal transporting your Internet traffic on your cable system. When the signal is loud compared to the noise, Internet communication happens at a faster speed with less packet loss. When the signal is not loud enough compared to the noise, speeds slow down causing latency. Packets may be lost, creating retransmissions of data packets and trouble with realtime applications such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) used by Vonage, Skype and Hosted PBX providers. In fact, any realtime application will suffer including video streaming from Netflix, Blockbust and others or any type of online gaming.

Good SNR Values for Cable Modems

SNR values for cable modems are measured separately for downstream and upstream signals. Downstream is the signal transmitting from the cable provider or ISP to the cable modem. Upstream is the signal from the cable modem back to the provider.

Each cable modem is a little different but typical good values are:

Downstream SNR – 30:1 or more
Downstream Power – -8 to 8db (decibels)
Upstream SNR – 29:1 or more
Upstream Power – less than 55db

Determining the Values for Your Cable Modem

Many cable modem configuration pages can be viewed at the internal address of 192.168.100.1. Refer to http://broadband.modemhelp.net/cable_modem_info/index.shtml and look up the specific make and model of your cable modem. This website will give the modem configuration page address of the cable modem and the SNR values for optimal performance. Just plug the address in your web browser and the page should come up. As you check your cable modem’s SNR values, remember that these values can fluctuate. If you are experiencing intermittent problems, check the values when experiencing trouble and compare to the values when all is well.

Improving the Cable Modem’s SNR Values

Cabling and connectors are the most common cause of poor SNR values. Inspect all cabling and connectors in line with the cable modem. There should not be any cable splices and the modem should be connected to the primary splitter entering your facility. In addition, the coax cable should not have any sharp bends. Repair any obvious problems and check the SNR values again.

If no obvious problems exist or repairs have not improved the SNR values, try moving the cable modem to the most immediate entry point in the facility. Attach it to the main feed, if possible. If the SNR values are good, then the problem is cabling in the facility. If the SNR values are still unacceptable, the problem is in the cable modem, outside cabling or equipment of the cable provider. You can try changing the cable modem, if you feel comfortable with that task. Otherwise, it is time to get the ISP/cable provider involved. You can report your findings of the SNR values.

Finding the Source of Internet Problems

Remember, to solve your Internet problems, you must systematically eliminate sources until you find the trouble. Randomly changing settings and replacing hardware will usually take more time and cause lots of frustration. The most logical first step is to determine whether the problem is inside or outside your facility. In other words, cable modem out versus cable modem inward. Before examining SNR values, use an IP Packet Loss and Delay Test Tool to quickly determine whether the problem is happening at your location or within the ISP. If it finds packet loss and/or latency at your site, it is now time to check the SNR.

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Posted in Cable Modem, Hosted PBX, Internet Testing Tools, ISP, SNR | 1 Comment »

Wireless Enabled ISP Routers Will Cause Problems with Hosted VoIP Services

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

Many major Internet Service Providers (ISP) such as Charter, Comcast, AT&T and CenturyLink Telephone will install wireless enabled Internet routers as an added benefit to their customers.  In some cases, these wireless enabled routers can cause voice quality issues with your VoIP, Hosted VoIP, Hosted PBX Services and/or network interruptions.

Most WiFi enabled access points operate in the 2.4 Ghz frequency range.  This unlicensed frequency range is also shared by many common household and business devices such as cordless telephones and microwave ovens.  Use of these devices within range of your wireless enabled ISP router can cause interference and other negative effects ranging from seemingly insignificant brief Internet outages up to the need for router resets.  Internet outages lasting only several milliseconds will be disruptive to VoIP calls using a Hosted PBX or Hosted VoIP provider.

If your ISP router is equipped for wireless networking service and is not being used on your network, I recommend the wireless feature be turned off.  Turning the wireless feature off eliminates the negative effects of any interference and a potential security risk to your network.

If your ISP router is equipped for wireless networking service and is in use on your network, it could be a source of negative voice quality issues as it bypasses the necessary quality of service (QOS) management for voice traffic.  Migrating wireless network devices to a separate wireless access controller is recommended.  Further, when you use a separate wireless access controller from your ISP router, interference from other devices in the same frequency range will have no effect on the operation of your Internet router.

For more information on how you can insure the best possible VoIP call quality from your Hosted PBX or Hosted VoIP providers, please read my other blog articles.  Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.

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Posted in Hosted PBX, Hosted VoIP, Internet, QoS, WiFi | 1 Comment »

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